An electric submersible pump (ESP) is often used in well settings to artificially lift subsurface resources such as hydrocarbons and water to the Earth's surface. Conventionally, the maximum pressure rating of a given ESP housing is limited by the stresses in the threaded end portion of the ESP housing. In a conventional centrifugal pump housing (diffuser), for example, the housing is sealed at the head and at the base with an O-ring seal located at the end of the housing and outboard of the end threads. Conventional arrangement of the end seals in an ESP causes the circumferential or hoop stresses of the housing in the threaded region to be the sum of the hoop stresses due to the thread radial forces resulting from axial loads on the thread flank angle, and the internal pressure differential from inside to outside the housing. The sum of these hoop stresses determines the maximum pressure rating of a conventional housing. Some conventional ESP housings have end seals both inboard and outboard of the threaded ends of the conventional housings. However, there is no fluid path from inside to outside the housing between these two seals. Thus, this conventional arrangement can trap the high internal pressure between the two seals and render the conventional inboard seal ineffective.